Lithuania Country Profile.Pdf
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Country Profile: Lithuania General Background The Republic of Lithuania is the largest and most southerly of the three Baltic states, with a population of 3.4 million. Incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1940, Lithuania declared independence in 1991 and is now a parliamentary republic. The system of education in Lithuania includes primary, basic (junior secondary) and (senior) secondary education, vocational education and training and higher education. Special education (to pupils with special needs) is provided according to all programmes of compulsory and general education. Education in Lithuania is compulsory for ten years, made up of four years of primary and six years of junior secondary (Basic) school. The system of general education consists of primary (Grades 1-4), junior secondary (Basic) (Grades 5-10) and senior secondary education (Grades 11-12). The Ministry of Education and Science approves the curriculum at all levels. Academic year The academic year is divided into two semesters with the autumn semester usually running from September to January and the spring semester usually lasting from February to June. Medium of instruction The language of instruction is Lithuanian at all educational levels. In school education, there are some schools for Russian, Belorussian, and Polish minorities, where the teaching language is Russian, Belorussian or Polish. In higher education, there are study programmes in English or Russian. The list of such study programmes is available at: http://www.skvc.lt/files/Qualificatios_assessment/Study_%20in_Lithuania_2008.pdf Prior to independence in 1991 Lithuania followed the Soviet system of education as the Lithuanian SSR. Please see the USSR file for further information. Qualification list School Pagrindinės mokyklos baigimo pažymėjimas (PMP) / Pagrindinio išsilavinimo pažymėjimas (Basic School Leaving Certificate) Brandos atestatas (Senior-secondary school leaving certificate) (from a Gymnasium or Secondary School; Vocational School or Technological Lyceum) Vocational Pažymėjimas (Certificate attesting to completion of basic vocational education (stage 1) Diplomas (diploma awarded by a vocational education and training school, attesting to acquisition of a professional vocational qualification (stages 2 to 4) Post-secondary non-higher education Aukštesniojo mokslo baigimo diplomas / Aukštesniojo mokslo diplomas (Advanced Vocational Education and Training diploma (also referred to as Junior College Diploma) (admission stopped in 2003) Higher Education – Undergraduate Aukštojo mokslo diplomas (Higher Education Diploma awarded after completion of a non-university level undergraduate study programme) Profesinio bakalauro diplomas (Bachelor degree awarded after completion of a non- university level undergraduate study programme) Aukštojo mokslo diplomas (Higher Education Diploma awarded after completion of a university-level undergraduate study programme) Bakalauro diplomas (Bachelor degree awarded after completion of a university level undergraduate study programme) Higher Education - Postgraduate Aukštojo mokslo diplomas (Higher Education Diploma awarded after completion of integrated studies when only a professional qualification is awarded) Aukštojo mokslo diplomas (Higher Education Diploma awarded after completion of university level [graduate level – Bologna Cycle 2] programme of specialised professional studies) Magistro diplomas (Master's degree) Daktaro diplomas (Doctorate) Meno licenciato diplomas Rezidentūros pažymėjimas Legislative framework In Lithuania, education is regulated by laws of the Lithuanian Republic, resolutions of the Lithuanian Government as well as legal acts approved by the Ministry of Education and Science. Between 1991 and 2002, a package of documents and publications regulating school activities and curricula was issued, collectively known as the Regulations on General Education in Lithuania. The activities of institutions of science and higher education are regulated by the Law on Science and Studies (12 February 1991). Education-related laws, government resolutions and orders of the Minister of Education and Science are legal acts that regulate standards for general education, professions and fields of specialisation, and stipulate general requirements for curricula, including their constituent modules and qualification requirements. The documents drawn up pursuant to the legal acts are then classified into a number of national education-related registers, each concerned with different issues, such as the National Register of Education, Science and Study Institutions, the National Register of Study and Training Programmes, the National Register of Licences and the Register of Education Certificates. Except in the case of higher education, educational institutions work in accordance with teaching plans, the common core curriculum and study programmes directly or indirectly approved by the Ministry of Education and Science. Relevant laws include: The Law on Education of the Republic of Lithuania (adopted on 25 June 1991). It sets forth the structure of the education system in the country and the foundations of operating and managing all educational institutions (except for higher educational institutions). On 2 June 1998, the [“Seimas”] adopted the Law on Amendments to the Law on Education of the Republic of Lithuania; The Law on Vocational Education and Training (14 October 1997) defines the structure and administration of the vocational education and training system, the activities of vocational schools and institutions of vocational education and training in the Lithuanian Republic. The law was amended in 2008. More to follow. The Law on Higher Education (21 March 2000) determines the system of higher education, regulates the activities of the institutions of higher education and establishes the binary system of higher education. On 17 June 2003, a revised version of the Law on Education was adopted aimed at defining the goals of education in Lithuania, main principles of the education system, basic structure of its organisation, activities and relationships as well as the major responsibilities of the state in the field of education. On the 3rd April 2007, a revised version of the Law on Vocational Education and Training was adopted aimed at the introduction of the following important elements into Lithuanian vocational education and training: apprenticeship, National System of Qualifications, accreditation and recognition of the experiential learning, assessment and accreditation of qualifications prescribed for the social stakeholders, co-funding of the vocational education and training and other important aspects. Education reforms and their implications Education in Lithuania has been subject to significant and ongoing reform since independence in 1991. Since 1991 administrative structures have been reorganised; vocational schools have been restructured and higher education has also been reorganised. In February 1991 the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania adopted the Law on Science and Studies which established the guidelines of higher education reform, with the intention of bringing Lithuania's research and higher education system closer to that of Western Europe. In 1992, the Lithuanian Government approved the General Concept of Education in Lithuania which has been the main and the most important document of the education reform ever since. From 1990 to 1997 the theoretical foundations of the educational reform (concepts of school types and curricula) were developed, and the legal documents of the reform (Law on Education, school regulations, etc.) were prepared. In the later stages, governing bodies (the Ministry of Education and Science, the educational departments of municipalities) were reorganized; the reform of vocational schools and colleges was initiated, and the system of higher education was restructured. The Law on Education of the Republic of Lithuania adopted in 1991 set out the main goals of the education system. In 1998–2000, in order to improve retention rates, the compulsory nine- year schooling was replaced by the ten-year schooling, with a year-long pre-primary education introduced in 2000. The Law on Education of the Republic of Lithuania stipulates that education is compulsory for all pupils up to the age of 16 (inclusive). The Law (as revised), which came into force on 29 July 1998, established that basic (lower secondary) school should last six years (replacing the former five-year basic school). Thus, compulsory education now involves four years of primary education followed by six years of basic (lower secondary) education (ten years in all). The Law on Higher Education, adopted on March 21, 2000, provides for two types of state and private higher education institutions – universities and non-university, higher-education establishments or colleges. The implications in terms of qualifications of this law are set out in Section 9 on higher education below. First level education – Primary education Pre-primary Pre-school education is not compulsory, however, nurseries and kindergarten are available to children aged up to 3 and from 4 to 6 respectively. Primary The programme of primary education is provided for children who have turned seven in that calendar year. A four-year programme of primary education is provided by kindergartenschools, primary and other schools and covers Grades 1 to 4. Awards attained at the end of this cycle: There is no formal qualification at the end of the primary